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‘DEPUTY’ DEBATE HEATS TEMPERS

A discussion of “The Deputy” turned into a noisy one‐hour forum led by the author of the controversial play, its Broad­way producer and a Roman Catholic priest yesterday.

The event was held by the Overseas Press Club, 54 West 40th Street. The German author, Rolf Hochhuth, attended with the producer, Herman Shumlin, and Msgr. John M. Oester­reicher, director of Seton Hall University's Institute of Ju­daeo‐Christian Studies.

As Monsignor Oesterreicher, at the beginning of the session, was making a detailed comment on a question, Mr. Shumlin in­terrupted, saying that he had not come to listen to a speech. There was a cry that he should let the churchman have his say.

Mr. Shumlin said he had been invited as the guest speaker and he and Mr. Hochhuth were there to answer any questions about the play.

Monsignor Oesterreicher said that he had also been invited as a speaker and that since Mr. Shumlin and Mr. Hochhuth had already had their hearing with the play, they should welcome the opportunity for discussion. “The Deputy” opened on Feb. 26 at the Brooks Atkinson Theater.

Both Invited as Speakers

A club official agreed after the session that Mr. Shumlin had at first been invited as the only guest speaker. Then Monsignor Oesterreicher agreed to attend, also as a speaker. Finally the club learned that Mr. Hochhuth wished to take part.

At one point during the ex­change, Mr. Shumlin rose to leave, but he was persuaded to stay. Barrett McGurn, president of the club, said that changes had been made in the format of the meeting to provide some­thing other than a “one‐sided forum.”

Later, Mr. Shumlin thumped the table with his hands as Mon­signor Oesterreicher was speak­ing.

“Mr. Shumlin, I think you should learn some manners,” the priest said.

“I think you should learn to speak briefly,” replied Mr. Shumlin.

Mr. Hochhuth, who made his contributions to the afternoon through an interpreter, did not enter into the dispute about the format. Instead he went over the historical background of his play, which criticizes Pope Pius XII for remaining silent during Hitler's extermination of the Jews.

He declined to comment on a strong denunciation of the play earlier this week by Cardinal Spellman. The Cardinal had called “The Deputy” an “out­rageous desecration” of the memory of Pius XII.

“I say nothing about it on principle because I answer no­body who has not seen it or read it,” Mr. Hochhuth said.

Monsignor Oesterreicher, a Jew who became a convert to Catholicism in 1924, said that when he lived in Europe under the Nazis he had wanted the Pope to speak up. But the said that today he respected the Pope's decision more than ever because speaking out would only have increased the suffer­ing.

The priest was ordained in Vienna in 1927. He left his na­tive Austria in 1938 and two years later came to the United States.

Mr. Hochhuth said that in his play he had used all argu­ments given for the papal silence. Many of these argu­ments, he said, are of a nature that must be respected.

“They were enough to justify any diplomat, but not the rep­resentative of Christ.” he said.

Mr. Shumlin referred to Ger­man documents covering the Vatican's negotiations for a con­cordat with Germany and said that the commitments made by the Vatican explained the Pope's silence. The Pope had come into a position from which he could not “extricate” himself, said Mr. Shumlin,

Monsignor Oesterreicher said that the producer was wrong in his interpretation of the facts. After the luncheon he asserted, “The fact that Shumlin wished to silence me proves that this is a publicity stunt.”took part in a panel discussion at Barnard College before an audience of 1,200.